Thursday, September 3, 2015

Barry Altschul's 3dom Factor: Tales of the Unforeseen (2015)

Barry Altschul made his mark on the musical world at a time of both turmoil and guarded acceptance. Charles Lloyd's quartet, with the unknown pianist Keith Jarrett, was bridging a gap with psychedelic rock at the Fillmore West; Miles Davis' Bitches Brew (Columbia, 1970) along with the work of groups like Weather Report, the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Carlos Santana
were blurring the line between increasingly progressive rock and even
more progressive jazz in the late 1960s and early 1970s. A pivotal
element of that new jazz sound was the quartet Circle who would be—in retrospect—a super group pioneering new directions.

The short-lived but very influential Circle, assembled by Chick Corea, included bassist Dave Holland, Anthony Braxton
on a number of reeds and Barry Altschul on drums/percussion. While
three-quarters of the group went on to be revered as jazz legends, the
self-taught Altschul worked through the 1980s and increasingly added to
the lexicon of drumming with his expanding kit and musical sensibility.
And then he all but disappeared until early in the new millennium.

After a twenty-five year absence as a leader, Altschul reemerged as the
leader of a trio whose personnel represents some of the finest talent
in music. Saxophonist Jon Irabagon of Mostly Other People Do the Killing, Mary Halvorson's Quintet and own trio with Altschul and bassist Mark Helias, has been steadily working his way up the hierarchy reed players and composers. Bassist Joe Fonda is without question in the ranks of modern counterparts such as William Parker and Mario Pavone and worked with Altschul´s in the late violinist Billy Bang's
FAB trio. Altschul, Irabagon and Fonda came together as the 3dom Factor
on their excellent 2013 self-titled debut on the TUM label and reunite
here for Tales of the Unforeseen.

Though the track
titles would indicate a defined structure, three of the album's six
compositions are free group improvisations, without charts or definitive
concepts to work from. Starting, logically, with "As the Tale Begins,"
the twenty-six minute piece projects the openness of the trio dynamics.
Altschul, while forcefully driving parts of the number, often trades
leads with Irabagon and the two step back to give Fonda center stage
about twenty minutes in. Extending the title of Thelonious Monk's
"Ask Me Now" with the preface "A Tale of Monk..." is not the only
change to the often-recorded cover. While respecting the original style
of the song, the trio takes a looser, somewhat muted approach,
occasionally adding a more propulsive rhythmic touch.

The first
half of "The Tale Continues" is a finely detailed Fonda solo that sets
the stage for Irabagon and Altschul to raise the intensity almost to the
breaking point. Annette Peacock's
"Miracles" (again, with a 'Tale'-related prefix) is Irabagon at his best
as he rides, uninhibited, over the rhythmic driving of Altschul and
Fonda. Altschul's "A Drummer's Tale" is a remarkable solo piece
demonstrating the leader's musical and technical proficiency on the kit
and other percussion. The masterwork of Tales of the Unforeseen
is "And the Tale Ends" with its fluctuating themes, tempo shifts and
multiple instruments, it feels more like a sophisticated arrangement
that a free improvisation.

It's good that Altschul's 3dom
Factor is not an isolated experiment, or one would hope that this second
release indicates some longevity. Free improvisation is often license
for an abrasiveness that can obscure the substantial intelligence and
effort involved in a project but Altschul, Irabagon and Fonda shine in
this environment. Their objectives on Tales of the Unforeseen are clear and carried out with considerable refinement amidst all the intricacy.

Track Listing: As the Tale Begins; A Tale of Monk: Ask Me Now; The
Tale Continues; Annette´s Tale of Miracles; A Drummer´s Tale; And the
Tale Ends.